Castelia City (Japanese: ヒウンシティHiun City) is a large seaside city located in south central Unova. Unlike other cities, Castelia is a huge, sprawling metropolis, sporting many towering skyscrapers and other tall buildings. It is the heart of business and economy of the Unova region, as opposed to its sister city, Nimbasa City, which is the heart of leisure and entertainment. Most of its city streets are crowded with different people rushing around, trying to get to work, home, or other places, creating a hustle and bustle scene for city life. The city exists on the bottom of Unova's central peninsula, south of the desert and north of the sea, making for a perfect harbor city.

The city has only two possible entrances on foot, from Route 4, a harsh desert in the north, and from the Skyarrow Bridge, a large suspension bridge that connects the southern part of the eastern peninsula to the central peninsula and provides a scenic view of Castelia's vast skyline, which spans off in the east. There are several other ways to enter the city. Tourists and businessmen travel to Castelia City from other regions by boat and stop at Castelia's harbor side.

Castelia City is geographically the largest city in the Unova region and contains many structural elements that have not been seen in cities in other regions. The city's core is a central business district, with huge skyscrapers and other commercial buildings; a series of alleyways lead into this core, where smaller shops are set up among city traffic. The city's outskirts are bounded on all sides by harbor, where ships provide traffic to other regions in the Pokémon world.

Despite its economic encouragement, Castelia also offers a worldly aspect. The city is a melting pot, incorporating cultures and foods from other regions. From across the globe, artists also flock to Castelia to open their art galleries, offering a different sort of entertainment in comparison to Nimbasa City.

Slogan

A City of Grandeur (Japanese: ヒウンは 飛ぶ雲 めでたい雲Hiun is soaring clouds, auspicious clouds.)

Places of interest

A map of Castelia City in Pokémon Black and White

Oceanfront Road

Due to the geography of the central peninsula, Castelia City's wharf is shaped so it extends all the way around the southern half of the city. The wharf is considered the outer layer of the giant city, where many tall skyscrapers and important buildings stand. The Pokémon Center can be found along the eastern side of the wharf, as well as several other company buildings, for example, the Battle Company, and Passerby Analytics HQ.

Battle Company

Battle CompanyTalented Trainers Welcome!

The Battle Company is a multi-story building located on the corner of Mode Street along the wharf. The company is one of the lead researchers of battle items, and assists in the development of other items such as Poké Balls, as well as goods for Pokémon and Trainers. An essential part of the research the company does is through battling, so most of the employees, who are usually Clerks and Scientists, are looking for a battle when they work. The stronger the employee is, the higher the floor they work on. Only three floors are accessible to Trainers and visitors, however: the ground floor, 47th floor, and 55th floor. The floors are all connected by an elevator at the back of the building. The ground floor is reception and the visitors' floor, where there are a few tables set up and a television. The 47th floor contains many Battle Company employees who will battle visitors. The head of the company works on the 55th floor.

The 47th floor contains sixBW/fiveB2W2 employees, most of whom can be battled. There are many office desks and cubicles, as well as computer systems and servers. The 55th floor is very much similar to the 47th floor, with several desks, cubicles and meeting places. In Black and White, there are four employees working on this floor, as well as the president, who sits at the back of the room behind a desk. In Black 2 and White 2, only the new president and the janitor occupy the 55th floor.

In Black and White, the president is an elderly man who disguises himself as a Janitor to trick people. He will give the player an Exp. Share after he is defeated. In Black 2 and White 2, it is revealed that the old president has retired to become a full-time janitor. His successor is his grandson, School Kid Neil. The janitor cannot be battled, but will still give the player an Exp. Share when they enter the building.

Passerby Analytics HQ

The Passerby Analytics HQ is located on the corner of the street where Castelia Gym is. This is the place where the player may accept requests to conduct surveys, answer questionnaires or change his or her greeting or thanking phrase.

Ocean Piers

Liberty Pier with a boat

There are five piers on the waterfront based on five human fingers[1] where certain ferries are docked.

Liberty Pier

Liberty Pier is opposite the street in which the Gym resides. The ferry found here will take the player to Liberty Garden if the player has a Liberty Pass. In Black 2 and White 2, the Liberty Pass is no longer required.

Unity Pier

Unity Pier is across from Narrow Street, and its ferry is transport to Unity Tower, which is only available after making an international trade.

Prime Pier

Prime Pier is across from Mode Street. In Black and White, the Plasma Ship is occasionally docked here, a black boat that Team Plasma uses to get to Liberty Garden. A few of the local citizens noticed the strange black boat and become concerned. In Black 2 and White 2, this is where Pop Roxie docks his boat and where the Plasma Frigate can be initially seen.

Cruise Dock

The Cruise Dock is opposite Castelia Street. It is where the Royal Unova docks. In Black and White, the player can only ride it in the evening after defeating Ghetsis and Team Plasma at N's Castle.

Thumb Pier

Thumb Pier lies directly south of the Bridge Gate. In Black and White, a person will give away an evolutionary stone, depending on whether the Trainer wants to evolve a Pansage, Pansear, or Panpour. In Black 2 and White 2, the entrance to the Castelia Sewers is located here.

Castelia Street

Castelia Street has many people coming and going, especially during the evenings when people are going home from work. This street has many tall skyscrapers and large buildings. The Game Freak HQ is on this street, as well as a building where, in Black and White, one Pokémon per day can receive a massage to increase its friendship. The second building also has an elevator allowing access to its 11th floor, where a person will give away TM44 (Rest).

Game Freak

The Game Freak headquarters are located in a large building on Castelia Street's right side. The building has only one accessible floor—22F—where the Game Freak developers can be found.

In Black and White, a girl on the ground floor will tell a story about a Pokémon that can cause illusions and then show the player a photo of Zorua, thus adding it to the Pokédex. Next to her is a young boy who does not talk. If the player has a fateful encounterCelebi in his or her party and talks to the boy, Celebi will come out of its Poké Ball, and the boy will reveal himself to actually be a Zorua, who will then join the player if they have a Poké Ball to spare.

The office on the 22nd floor is similar to the Battle Company's, with computers, cubicles, desks and servers around the place. Here is where the Game Freak developers are working on the game. The Game Director at the back of the room will give the player a Diploma if they complete the Regional Pokédex, as well as another Diploma if they fill up the National Pokédex.

Mode Street

Mode Street is another commuter-heavy street, but it is not as large or as busy as Castelia Street. Many trees and plants line its sides, giving the street a feeling of nature. Along the west side of Mode Street is the famous Casteliacone stand, and along the east side is Studio Castelia, a popular art gallery where people go to enjoy local artwork.

Studio Castelia

Studio Castelia is a small art gallery in central Castelia which displays and showcases many painting from artists who live in Castelia; however, it does not display any of Burgh's paintings, as he prefers to hang them in the Castelia Gym. Many artists from around Unova come to Castelia to get inspiration from Burgh, and their paintings are hanging here. In Black and White, the studio is currently exhibiting works in the motif of legends of the Unova region, which have more to do with the myths of Reshiram and Zekrom. In Black 2 and White 2, the current focus is works by up-and-coming young artists. The owner of the studio likes to take walks along the Central Plaza and enjoys taking in the scenery and landscape with people and Pokémon. Every day, a HarlequinBW /ClerkB2W2 inside will ask the player to bring him a Pokémon of a certain type (except Dark), and for doing so he will reward the player with their choice of one of the first five Berries.

Casteliacone

Casteliacone

Castelia's Famous CasteliaconeClosed during Winter.

Castelia's Famous Casteliacone

Casteliacone is a popular ice cream stand in Castelia City, which sells ice creams with the same name as the store. In Black and White, a single Casteliacone can be purchased once per week every Tuesday for 100, except in winter when the stand is closed. Due to its tremendous popularity, Casteliacone sells out very quickly, with crowds of people coming from all across Unova, even as far as Accumula Town, just to have a taste. The line for the famous sweet is always long and the ice cream is often unavailable.

In the two years between Pokémon Black and White and Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, the ice cream has diminished in popularity. In Black 2 and White 2, the player can either purchase one or a dozen Casteliacones, is no longer limited by day of the week, and the stand remains open even in winter, but the player may still only make one purchase per day. Initially, the stand has no line, but after the player has defeated the Champion, a long line will again appear in front of the stand (if the player has bought a Casteliacone sometime previously), and the player must talk to the last person in line to get in line.

Narrow Street

Narrow Street is a back alley with a number of dumpsters and rubbish bins lined up against its sides. Like the name suggests, the street is very narrow, containing dark buildings, and shady people. Unlike any of the other streets, it is poorly lit and contains very few people. A man hidden behind one of the dumpsters will give the player TM70 (Flash). Some thugs can be seen hanging around the street not saying much, just laughing and smirking. In Black and White, one of the city's three Dancers is originally located here. There is only one accessible building on this street, a small café called Café Sonata.

Café Sonata

Café Sonata is a small café on the right side of Narrow Street. Many people come to the café to relax after a tiring day of work, and to listen to the Musician's guitar rhythm, who believes that a beautiful melody makes people happy and a sad melody makes people sorrowful. If a Trainer brings Meloetta to the Musician, he will teach it Relic Song. The manager of the café will give Trainers a Lemonade in Black and White and Moomoo Milk in Black 2 and White 2 for coming into the store for the first time; however, no drinks or items can be bought after this.

In Black 2 and White 2, by showing Meloetta to a person here, the player can receive a special Funfest Mission.

Gym Street

Gym Street is a large street which contains its namesake, the Castelia Gym. Another building is also on the west side of the street, being only an empty building in Black and White while in Black 2 and White 2 it contains the Medal Office and many people.

Castelia City Gym

The Castelia Gym is the official Gym of Castelia City, located on the western-most street above the Liberty Pier. The Gym also doubles as a working art gallery. It is based on Bug-type Pokémon. The Gym Leader is Burgh.

The Castelia Gym is designed like a huge beehive in Black and White. It contains many small hexagonal rooms, several which are cut off by walls of honey which are at first barricaded by gates. There are buttons which are placed in the center of most of the rooms, and if certain buttons are stepped on, they trigger the gates to descend. However, not all the buttons trigger the doors to descend; some instead make Trainers appear who will then challenge the player. The player is able to walk through any wall of honey, as long as there is not a raised gate over it, allowing the player to navigate through the Gym and eventually reach Burgh. The Gym is also decorated with pictures painted by Burgh himself. For defeating Burgh, Trainers receive the Insect Badge and TM76 (Struggle Bug).

In the two-year gap in the series, Burgh's Gym gets a redesign, now featuring cocoons (perhaps created using String Shot) which a player uses much like elevators to reach Burgh.

Medal Office

The Medal Office (Japanese: メダル事務局Medal Office) is located opposite the Gym.

In Black and White, when following a Team Plasma Grunt to try to retrieve Bianca's Munna, it is discovered that the strange, seemingly deserted building is currently hiding Ghetsis, Bronius, and Rood, along with several Team Plasma Grunts. Ghetsis reveals that they are using the building as a hideout as they thought it would be ironic to have a hideout opposite a Gym, but they had not expected to be discovered so soon. Team Plasma then leaves the building, leaving only a Smoke Ball.

Central Plaza

Central Plaza in the anime

The Central Plaza, also known as the Castelia Central Area, is a park located at the intersection of all the streets in Castelia City. There is a large flowing fountain that is said to bring people and Pokémon together. There are Vending Machines located here that sell drinks. In Black and White, a Dancer named Mickey will give the player an Amulet Coin if they can round up two other Dancers in Castelia to form a dance team with him. The two other dancers that are located around the city are Edmond and Raymond, and they are located on Narrow Street and Unity Pier respectively.

To the north of Central Plaza is another street with several tall skyscrapers that leads out to Route 4. Three buildings may be accessed from this street.

On the west side is a building that contains many useful services in Black and White. On the ground floor is the Name Rater, where Trainers may change the nicknames of their Pokémon, as well as the Feeling Reader, who offers advice about using the Feeling Check on the C-Gear. On the 11th floor is the Relocator, which requires a password to be used. The Relocator is used to transfer any of the four Pokémon distributed to commemorate the animemovieZoroark: Master of IllusionsーCelebi and the Shinylegendary beasts, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. Also on the 11th floor is Mr. Lock, the "magical clown who can open anything." Using the Relocator, the player can transfer the Lock Capsule, an event item that was never given an official distribution, to Black or White. After giving the Lock Capsule to Mr. Lock, the player will receive TM95 (Snarl), which was locked within the Lock Capsule to protect it from Team Rocket. In Black 2 and White 2, an old man on the ground floor will give the player an Amulet Coin.

The southernmost building on the east side of the street is hosting a party on its 47th floor. After getting past the guard on the ground floor who frisks anyone for suspicious items, the player may go up the elevator and talk with people at the party, some of whom speak in foreign languages. Some of the people upstairs will give away items or TMs.

The northernmost building on the east side of the street is full of people on the ground floor, one of whom is a Scientist who will give the player an Eviolite if they have seen enough Pokémon. On the 47th floor, a man will explain the effects of each of the eight Badges.

Castelia Park

Only accessible via the Castelia Sewers in Black 2 and White 2, Castelia Park is a small area enclosed by buildings. Similar to (but much smaller than) the National Park in Johto, it is shaped like a Poké Ball. Dark grass is on the right, with regular tall grass on the left and a tree in the middle. It is said to be "where it all began" for Castelia City.

Pokémon Center

A lady next to the PC will ask whether the Pokémon leading the team at that moment is the player's favorite Pokémon. This will change the favorite Pokémon's sprite in the Trainer's Profile from the Vs. Recorder. This action can be repeated anytime the player wants to change the favorite Pokémon again.

Castelia University

Not seen but only mentioned on television, Castelia University is a school in which Dr. Technic Al'Machine often appears as a guest expert for "Moves for Living."

Demographics

Pokémon Black and White

Castelia City's population is 127. Castelia City is the fourth most populous city in the Pokémon world, closely beating Goldenrod City's population of 126.

Castelia Gate

Castelia Park

Back alley

This area can only be accessed from the Castelia Sewers when the sewers are flooded in spring and summer, and requires Surf. However, it is possible to change seasons to autumn or winter while entering the area from the sewers.

Man in the Pokémon Center

In the upstairs of the Pokémon Center, a man wearing a black suit will give the player some rare items based on how many different outsiderID numbers the player has in their possession (despite his claim it is based on the number of trades), acting as a Generation V equivalent to the Lucky Channel and its successors. These items are usually acquired by battling on the Battle Subway. If the player has not traded with enough people to receive an item, the man suggests players use the GTS.

Back alley

These Trainers are in an area accessible only from the Castelia Sewers when the sewers are flooded in spring and summer, and requires Surf. However, it is possible to change seasons to autumn or winter while entering the area from the sewers. Defeating these Trainers will earn the player the Castelia Boss Medal.

In the anime

Castelia City in the anime

Like in the games, Castelia is a big city with an abundance of huge, colorful skyscrapers and shops with a long wharf.

The city made a brief cameo in The Lost World of Gothitelle!, where a few skyscrapers could be seen from the Skyarrow Bridge, and again in Sally's flashback of Gothitelle in the alleyways. It appeared fully in A Venipede Stampede! when Ash, Iris and Cilan arrived there. Cilan talked about its famous ice cream: Casteliacone. Ash and his friends suddenly met Burgh at the Central Plaza. Burgh sensed something was wrong and they went down the underground sewage system that goes past the outskirts of Castelia to find the problem. Here, they found an injured Venipede. Suddenly a massive group of Venipede stormed in and attacked the city.

Burgh became somewhat angry when he found out that the mayor planned to get rid of the Venipede using force and protested the idea. The mayor eventually decided to let him handle it. His idea was to find the leader of the Venipede and have Nurse Joy's Audino use Heal Pulse on it. He, Ash, and Iris eventually located the leader only to see it was attacked by Trip and his Lampent. Burgh ordered him to stop and told him that he was only making things worse.

Once Nurse Joy's Audino used Heal Pulse on the leader, Burgh played his "Insect Pipe" and lead the Venipede out of the city. In a now-deleted scene from the episode (the episode's original ending), he saw Ash and his friends off when they decided to go with Professor Juniper to investigate the Desert Resort.

Castelia City briefly appeared again at the end of The Name's N!. Here, N got off the ship where he met Ash, Iris, and Cilan and bid farewell to them.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Castelia City in Pokémon Adventures

Black and White first arrived in Castelia City at the end of A Direct Attack and a Daunting Defense. There, Tep chased a Zorua through the GAME FREAK building while both Black and White were away. In the following chapter, White started to fear for her business when told by Black that Tep is close to evolving, and tried to persuade him not to use it in battle, but to no avail. While Black had his battle with Burgh, Bianca arrived at the city looking for Black, and ended up at Narrow Street, where a Team Plasma Grunt knocked her out and declared her Litwick to be liberated. Iris, who visited Castelia earlier to critique Burgh's paintings, informed the Gym Leader about the incident, just after he lost to Black. Black helped solve the mystery by tracing the source of the spores on Bianca to the building opposite the Gym. They found the Grunts inside the building, accompanied by Bronius, who fled the scene. The next day, White calmed down over her fears when she found out that Tep evolved. In another part of the city, Cheren only then found out what happened to Bianca.

White later returned to Castelia City with Bianca in an effort to cheer her up after finding out what happened to her after the incident. She was impressed by Bianca's musical skills and sent recordings of her music to a local guitarist at Café Sonata, who was also impressed. Thus she took Bianca to the café, which was on the same street where Bianca suffered the initial incident. They entered the café to find that it was attacked by a Vullaby, with the guitarist having broken his hand as a result of the attack. Vullaby began to attack a Meloetta residing in the café at the moment. White used her newly acquired battling skills to keep Vullaby at bay, but struggled when Vullaby called on an entire flock of its kind. Bianca volunteered to play Meloetta's forgotten Relic Song in the guitarist's place. This allowed Meloetta to relearn the song and transform into its Pirouette Forme, turning the battle against the flock of Vullaby. White concluded the battle by capturing the leading wild Vullaby, convincing Bianca to give her Pokédex to White.

In the Black 2 & White 2 chapter, Castelia City was due to host the Unova Choral Competition, which Cheren's AspertiaTrainers' school class qualified for by winning the Autumn Choral Competition. Roxie led the class to a member of the organizing committee, who, as the class found out, had been attacked and his Karrablast stolen. Hearing that the attacker hid in the Castelia Sewers, Blake, Whitley, and Hugh went into the sewers to confront them, the culprits suspectedly turning out to be members of Team Plasma. After meeting up with the rest of the class back above ground on Castelia, Hugh told of Team Plasma's revival, and revealed proof that one of their classmates was a member. When everybody started suspecting Whitley, her Foongy put everyone besides her and Hugh asleep. Hugh demanded Whitley to take him to Team Plasma's hideout, but before she could convince him that she didn't know where the current hideout was, the Plasma Frigate appeared over the city and fired its Kyurem Cannon, freezing the city over in an instant. The cannon's blast knocked out Hugh, after which Whitley was confronted by Rood, who had come for the memory card hidden inside Whitley's pendant, which held a program to stop the Colress Machine's power to control Pokémon. However, the memory card, which Whitley had lost and Hugh had discovered earlier, was not in Hugh's possession, meaning that it was still in Aspertia City. Rood decided to leave N's Zorua behind to impersonate Whitley while they would return to Aspertia city to retrieve the memory card. However, aboard the Plasma Frigate, Rood was spotted by Colress and Ghetsis, with the latter ordering him to be captured. However, Whitley protected Rood from the capture attempt, causing her to get caught instead and giving Rood enough time to escape.

Prime Pier in Pokémon Adventures

Castelia City frozen over in Pokémon Adventures

In the TCG

Related cardsCards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format.Cards listed with a silver background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.

Trivia

Pikachu inside the building

Even though it was officially stated that no Pokémon from previous generations would appear in Pokémon Black and White before obtaining the National Pokédex, a Pikachu can be seen with a Hiker inside the same building as the Name Rater in Castelia City. However, the developers most likely meant that players could not obtain or battle any such Pokémon before the National Pokédex.

The Game Freak headquarters in Castelia City is a direct reference to the Carrot Tower in Setagaya, Tokyo. The 22nd floor of the Carrot Tower is the current headquarters of the game development company Game Freak, which is the same floor that the Game Freak members are located on in the game.

Several locations in Castelia City are different than they are in other cities and towns: the Pokémon Center is located underneath another building, not a standalone building; the Gym faces the left, while others face south.

The "Moves for Living" TV program broadcast around Unova features Dr. Technic Al'Machine, a professor from Castelia University.

Despite the Casteliacone stand closing in Winter, it will still be advertised on TV and bulletin boards during that season.

Because of the many different camera angles used in the city, using Fly in Castelia City causes an abrupt change in the camera angle in order to center the player in the screen and zoom in on him or her. Other places in the game with multiple camera angles also employ this technique.